Investment Banking Prior to Med School

[yenuwine]

I posted this on the pre med board, but didn't really get the kind of responses I was looking for. I was wondering if those of you who are already in med school had any opinions. Thanks.


Hey everyone,

I'm looking for some opinions in order to help me decide what I should do after college and before med school. Here's my situation: I just found out I got a job offer for investment banking (healthcare group) at a bulge bracket firm, but I'm still 85% sure I will still go to med school after the typical 2 year analyst stint. I will be taking at least a year inbetween college and med school, taking this job would most likely extend that to two years. I guess what I really would like to know, is what people think a stint in investment banking would look like to adcoms? My reasons for wanting to do it are: money (would drastically reduce the huge burden of med school tuition), interest in business and finance (I have plans for doing the joint md/mba program), and just challenging myself to develop practical business skills (communication, leadership, blah blah) as well as gain new experiences. I'm sure I could spin it positively during an interview, but objectively how does it look? Also, my alternatives are teach for america or study abroad. Do any of these alternative drastically enhance my chances more so than the others? Let me know what you guys think. Thanks for your responses.

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[emack]

I think it would look good. I know my school prides itself on choosing a diverse class-- in my class there is a chiropractor, a basoonist, teachers, OTs, PTs, engineers, paramedics, academics, a philosophy PhD, a foreign doctor, a biotech consultant, a dentist, etc. I say the more life experience you have, the better (up to a point, of course-- I'm not sure there's a point in starting medical school in your 50s, say).

It's hard to stand out in a crowd of applicants when everyone looks the same. ("Hmm... okay... this one's a... BioChem major, perfect GPA, good MCAT, volunteer time in geriatrics and pediatrics, tsuanmi relief worker, jobshadowed a dermatologist, a urologist, and a GP... let's put him in the pile with the rest of those ones. We can just pick a couple dozen of them at random later on.") Anything (good) that makes you stand out a bit will be interesting to the admissions committee. And there's no such thing as bad publicity, eh?

 

[synapse lapse]

Tons of investement bankers coming into medicine these days (I know we have atleast 2 in our class), I think its a good idea to take the job since you would be taking a year off anyhow, and the money is very nice. Not sure its really a unique path as so many are now applying, but it certainly won't hurt you.

 

[Mutt]

One of the featured students in the HMS informational booklet that was sent out with their secondary has an investment banker turned MD in it.

Hope you applied there too.

 

[Paws]

IB all the way!

Dude you will learn so much in your two short years there that you will be grateful you did it. Medical school will seem easy after having worked your butt off in that firm. The gnarliest doctor will seem like a creampuff, too, after having had the senior managing director yell at you across the trading floor, and other nice things like that. What once seemed impossibly difficult will now seem like a snap. These are a few of the awesome skills you will learn in the bank. It will be invaluable experience. Plus, the money is good and you will learn what to do with it.

 

[DHMO]

Medical school will seem easy after having worked your butt off in that firm. The gnarliest doctor will seem like a creampuff, too, after having had the senior managing director yell at you across the trading floor, and other nice things like that. What once seemed impossibly difficult will now seem like a snap.

I take it you haven't gotten to 3rd year yet.

 

[fedor]

If you're certain you want to enter medicine after a stint in IB to make some money, look into working for a boutique IB instead of a bulge bracket firm. There are pro's and con's to working for both, but boutiques often times are willing to pay substantially more than bulge bracket firms for analysts.

Expect a base of $50k + $30k bonus for your first year at a bulge bracket in NYC.

However if you're a solid candidate you may be able to swing a $100 base + bonus at a boutique your first year. The highest boutique first year analyst compensation I have seen with my own eyes is a guaranteed $200k (base plus bonus) for someone who had 3 summers of IB internship and they really wanted to keep this individual for the long haul.

If you want to build a career on Wall Street, take the bulge bracket route. If you want to make a quick buck and enter medicine, go for a boutique and negotiate your salary.

But of course, if you can, you want to enter a hedge fund or venture capital firm and not IB anyways.

Even at $100k, when you calculate how much you will make per hour kin IB, it comes out to very little. And with the taxes and cost of living in NYC, you probably won't be able to save much as a first year analyst anyways.

If I were you, I would just travel the world or study abroad while you're still young.

 

[tiredmom]

I think working in the real world will help you in many ways... it does make it easier to deal with obnoxious doctors, residents, gunners, everybody (and I am in clinicals ) You learn people skills differently when working rather than in school. I see a lot of the folks in my class who haven't worked, and some have a hard time with the finesse of talking to people to get what you want done without getting them mad at you.

 

[lowbudget]

I did 2 years of Health Care VC in New York before med school. You should do it. It's great experience and honestly it'll be your first baptism in the real world. I'm NEVER phased when residents/med students/attendings/nurses act like a@@holes, because I'm so used to swimming among sharks that I'm ok with it. Additionally, you see a side in people in banking that you get so fed up with that you say to yourself, "I will never be like you." I partied a lot when I worked, and I ended up still saving a good amount of cash for med school and retirement. But the amount of debt you undertake in med school pales in comparison to the amount of cash you save.

But you do need to know a couple of things:

1. Working 80-100 hours a week at the whim of your associates/VP/MD is NOT my idea of "time off". So don't think that you're getting R&R before med school.

2. You need to line your ducks up in a row. When will your MCAT expire? When will your state residency expire? Does that coincide with your dates you expect to be at work? Does your boss know you're going to med school in 2 years? Will you be able to go on interviews? And if they do, will that affect your career in banking? Will they put you on shi++y projects? Will they sabotage your attempt to get into med school?

3. If you're good at banking, realize that over the course of 2 years, your science skills and knowledge will fade while your finance and accounting skills will strengthen. You'll have to make a decision in 2 years time what's gonna happen. What if they throw a crapload of money your way... would you stay?

4. My interviews were very predictable. Why Medicine? Why not Business? And they'll pound you over and over about that and question your motives over and over again. Some will be impressed. Others will be turned off the moment you step into the room, and there is nothing you can do about it. You have to be strong and come up with a good story to tell. But just realize that there will be a bias against you as well as people who know NOTHING about banking who won't be impressed with your achievements.

5. Lastly, go with your heart. I mean, you have ETERNITY to get into med school. And honestly the people who work doing SOMETHING before med school are more balanced and more sane than those who did not, both in med school and in residency. It's very obvious who they are. That maturity goes a long way. You will have days during med school and residency when you say, man, I'm TOO OLD FOR THIS CRAP. Where did my LIFE GO?!! And when you get back together with your buddies from banking, you'll see that they have accumulated so much f*ck-off-money that there'll be a disparity between you and them. They hate their jobs, but at least they have cash to boot. But if you believe that being in medicine is your life's calling, that no matter what you made ultimately the right decision, then go with it and run with it and don't let anyone else say anything else.

 

[Chiuster82]

Hey there...
We are two finance major that somehow got into Med School... and we gots some advice for ya.

1) Take a year or two off before med school. Med School sucks, you can thank me later

2) DO NOT do something tough or stressfull during this two years such as I-Banking. The stress will come... no need to get more than your fair share

3) It isn't hard to get into med school as a Finance major... You will be the affirmative action peeps of your class. (Refering to stupidity, not race)

4) Med school is kinda like going to uber cocky nerd high school. Make some friends outside of Med School, and accept the fact that you will be learning Biochem along with the sons a bitches who have Ph D's in Biochem. I think one of my classmates even wrote a textbook for Biochem.

 

[Paws]

I take it you haven't gotten to 3rd year yet.

Second year here, but I have had numerous cr$ppy experiences with the senior bankers I speak of. So far, no doctors or nurses have ever bugged me and I thank all the previous experiences for that.

I say it again: IBanking gives you excellent money in your pocket and tremendous life experiences and skills that you will always have. It's like a turbocharge to your professional life. When other people who have never worked outside a sleepy research lab are moaning about the attendings or the long hours on the wards, you will be way ahead of the game. And probably wearing a nice dresshirt and tie and good quality trousers. I thought of it as a once in a lifetime experience and I tried to take advantage of it as much as I could - knowing that it would be time limited.

As for firms to go with, I say stick with the tried and true main line houses. Boutiques can be all about personality and who needs more of that? Hedge funds? run the other way! Just go with the mainstream teams and go along with the flow for your two years.

 

[yenuwine]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I have some more things to think about now. I did accept the offer, but in the back of my mind there is a decent chance I'll have a change of heart, although I'm the kind of person who likes to stick to what I say. Just to clear things up, I'm actually not working in NY, but at a regional office, so I'm hoping it will be a little more chill, although I have heard this office is known for working hard. I'm also not a finance major, but I'm an electrical engineering and comp sci. Pretty weird, I know. I do think this experience will really challenge me, and I'm always up for a challenge. My two biggest fears are that I might get "sucked" into it and decide not to pursue medicine because I'll be older and I'll have a lot of money being thrown at me, and that this wouldn't be an activity that would help me to get into medical school. Its good to see opinions from both sides, I'm surprised at how many pro-IB opinions there are...I definitely wouldn't expect that on the pre med board. Any other thoughts are welcomed.

 

[drgolytely]

The OP in this thread is MY HERO.

GOD I LOVE trading and everything business associated! I can study hard at learning the intrinsic and extrinsic coagulation pathways, or I can spend my time reviewing the latest news and technical levels of the EUR/USD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...or the options on stock about to breakout

...or cover to cover of Businessweek for trading/investment ideas

...or Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities.

I say, I-BANKER ALL THE WAY MAN. Ad coms will love you for your saviness!